Drying-room.



E. E/PERKINS.

DRYING ROOM. APPLICATJON FILED FEB. 27. 19l5.

Patented Mam 14,1915.

2 swears-swan 1 J K QQ Q I E. E. PERKINS.

DRYING ROOM.

. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27. l9l5. 1,164,391; Patented Dec.14,1915.

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and circulated.

trihuting action of the coils.

TNT OFFICE.

ELMER E. PERKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

DRYING-ROOM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

Application filed February 27, 1915. Serial No. 10,890.

' To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1; Emma E. PERKINS, a c1t1zen of the United States, residing at Glu- -cago, in the county of Cook and State of ticular reference to drying rooms of the in- .closed type commonly known as condensing rooms or kilns in which the air is alternately heated and circulated around the articles to be dried and then cooled to condense the moisture which it has absorheditroin the articles, whereupon the air .is again heated Drying kilns of this gen eral character, as heretofore constructed, have comprised cooling coils located. at one side of the kiln and separated from the drying room proper by a vertical partition, and heating coils positioned near the bottom of the room beneath the material or articles to be dried. The air cooled by the condensing coils flowed downwardly along" one side of the kiln beneath the cooling coils the floor and thence along the floor until past the heating coils by reason of in lci this character some means was inva. ably provided beneath the heating coils to dis tribute the air to the coils. The distributing means employed varied in different kilns, insome instancesconsisting I a door beneath the coils having openings arranged in spaced relation through wlll'fll the air would rise to the coils. In, other kilns a dis tributing diaphragm or wall was employed so that part of the cooler air would be forced to flow beneath the diaphragm to the opposite side of the kiln from the cooling coils before the air would be permitted to rise to the heating coils. These various distributing devices beneath the heating coils together with the vertical partitions between the cooling coils and the drying rocm proper not only complicated the construction of the kiln and increased its initial cost if installation but also added to the dangers of fire, and in accordance with the underwriters requirements, kilns so constructed must be equipped with sprinkler heads beneath the coils.

()ne of the primary objects of my present invention is to construct a kiln or drying room of the general character indicated, which will be entirely free from vertical partitions and horizontal floors, diaphragms or other air-distributing means beneath the heating coils. V

Another object of my invention is to proyide a kiln which will be extremely simple in construction and which can be installed at a minimum cost and at the same time will be more effective and eflicient in operation than the complicated constructions heretofore employed.

A further object of my invention is to effect a thorough distribution of the air in the kiln and to provide for the required circulation by an arrangement of the heating and coplin-g devices themselves without the aid or necessity of deflectors, fans or other auxiliary distributing and circulating devices.

Other objects and many of the inherent advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better on derstood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings-Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a drying room embodying one form of my invention and Fig. 2 is a similar view of a room embodying a slightly modified form of my invention.

0n the drawings reference characters 3 and, -ilindicate the side walls of my drying room and 5 and 6 the floor and ceiling respectively of the room. all of the walls being preferably constructed to provide suitable dead air spaces so that the room will be adequately heat-insulated, so as to preventdissipation and loss of heat from the interior of the room.

A plurality of tracks 7, preferably three in nqmber for each room, are supported usual y' about two .and one-half feet above the floor 5 upon suitable supporting columns 8, these tracks-being adapted to support the lumber or other material tobe dried which may be piled directly upon the tracks, or, is usually done, it may be trundled into the room upon trucks or -car-bunks constructed to run on these tracks.

Upon the columns 8 beneath the tracks are securely mounted a series of transversely extending channel-bars 9 which serve as supports or hangers for the pipes, which will be later described. Upon one of the vertical side walls, and in the present instance upon the wall 4, I have mounted, by means of suitable brackets 11, a cooling device 12 in the form of a series of coils of pipes eX- tending longitudinally of the kiln and disposed. at varying distances from the wall so that the descending air will be brought into contact with the pipes in its downward travel and be cooled thereby to relieve it of its moisture which is collected in a trough i3 beneath the device and delivered thereby outside the room. ater, brine or any suitable cooling agent is circulated through the coil 12 and the temperature may be controlled by hand. regulated or thermostaticalij' operated valves (not shown). The air cooled by the coil 12 flows directly downwardly along the wall 4 to the bottom of the room where it travels along the floor until it isdistributed upwardly throughout the room. lay heating and distributing means,

Ell 'i rill now he described.

lilgum. the hangers or cross-bars 9 I have mounted a series of longitudinally extending pipes 14 connected together at one end of the kiln by a header 15 andat the opposite end by a header 16. Steam is admitted'to the header 15 through a pipe 17 at one side of the kiln and is disclnnrged, preferably at the opposite corner of the room, through a he l8 connected with the header 16. It be observed from Fig. 1 that the-first he leit of the room is spaced from alum; two feet to permit the down 'l'coin the coil. The pipes 14: are

a meld relation, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the greatest heat, and consequently he greatest distributing force, will be generated at the side of the kiln most remote flfll'l'i: the "Fall i, and the heat and distributing 1 orce win he applied in gradually decreasing PlOpOltlMlS across the kiln toward the wall 4 with the result that the air cooled by the coil. 12 arutl delivered below the heat ing pipes will rise uniformly between the nd be distributed upwardly throughroom. If all of the pipes were unif rni distance apart it will he thai the cool air from the floor H d be drawn upwardly and distributed more rapidly ncar the Ill t than it would near the wall "e the cooler air would probably not be orawn along the floor 5 en tircly across the room it the opposite side from the coil 12 ll spacing the pipes varying' distances apart, howcicr, so that the greatest force is exerted at the point most remote from the wall, where the cooler air enters beneath the pipes l Hill enabled to procc a uniform distrilnitiou of the air *o'ughout the romn which will dry the oduct or articles therein. evenly and uni rely in all. parts. To insure that the air it be drawn beneath the p 'lcar across the floor 5 to the wall 1 pm H to provide the room in continually I adjacent to the wall 3 a cluster of pipes 19 arranged outside the right-hand track 7 which distributes air upwardly adjacent to the wall 3.

When the steam is turned on through the pipe 17 the pipes it near the wall 3 will first heat up and start the circulation and distribution of the air and as the heat con veyed to all of the pipes 14: the circulation and distribution will become uniformly of fective throughout the entire area of the room, the heated air rising from the pipes 14 around the material or articles to be dried, then flowing along the ceiling (ltoward the cooling coil 12 by which it will be cooled and the moisture will be removed therefrom whereupon the cooled air will drop to the floor 5 and be drawn along the floor and distributed upwardly again by the heating pipes. A uniform circulation and distribution of air in the room is therefore maintained by this construction without the employment of any partitions, false floors, deflectors or other auxiliary distributing devices, and the inside of the room is unobstructed and free to receive the material or articles to be dried. The material itself, which is piled or arranged in the room, prc vents any harmful radiation directly from the pipeso'r cooling coils.

In Fig. 2 l have illustrated a modified form of the invention in that two sets of cooling coils are employed, one on each side of the room, as shown. The heating pipes 14 instead of being arranged in gradually decreasing spaced, relation from one side of the room to the other, are disposed in gradually decreasing spaced relation from the sides toward the center of the room. The side pipes are both spaced from the walls 3 and 4, respectively, a sullicient distance to permit down-flow of air from the coils 12 to the floor and the greatest distributing force is exerted along the center of the kiln toward which the air is drawn from both sides and distril'mted upwardly throughout the room. In this construction a double circulation is cllectcd since the cooling coils on opposites of the room will cause two downcurrents of coolci'l air and the warmer air rising in the-r0o1n will necessarily flow in both directions along the ceiling to the respective cooling coils." The variable spacing of the heating and distributing pipes, however, insures a thorough distribution of the air throughout the rooms. This form of the invention is particularly eflicicnt when unusually large amounts of moisture are to be removed, but for ordinary conditions the construction shown in Fig. 1 is preferable.

In actual. practice the room. is equipped with the usual hygrometcrs and thermometers and, if preferred, the supply of steam to the heating pipes may be thermostatically controlled so as to maintain a predetermined menses I 16 since all partitions, diaphrag'ins, false floors,

defiectorsand the like are entirely eliminated, the dances arising from fire are greatly reduce" and the installation of sprinkler beans beneath the heating pipes may be dispensed with. The circulation and v distribntionof the air in the room inain tainedsolely by the arrangement of the heatingand cooling pipes with the result that ;the maximum eflicien cy is obtained with a 20' constructionjof. estreme simplicity. It will bemanifest however, that the details of construction disclosed may be varied within considerable limits without departing fr in the essence of the invention as set 'zn the following claims:

I claim: 1. A drying rooni comprising a closed drying chamber having means therein for creating and maintaining a complete circuit of air circulation, said means including a heating device arranged and distributed. over the floor and spaced from a side wall of the chamber and disposed a short distance above .the floor of the chamber but in direct com munication with lthe floor area therebeneath so as to distribute the air directly upwardly through the'chamber, and a cooling d vi within the drying space located directly above the space between the side wall and 40 said heating device vwith its cooling surface in direct contact with the air of the drying space.

2. A drying room comprising a closed partitionless drying chamber hail News for 46 creating and maintaining a complete circuit of air circulation within'th'e drying space of said closed chamber, said means including a heating device within the drying space and distributed over the floor of the chamber 50 and spaced from a side wall of the chamber to cause a direct upward flow of air from the underlying floor area, and a cooling device Withinthe drying space at the upright side of the chamber from which the heating coil 56 is spaced.

3. A. drying room comprising a closed drying chamber devoid of partitions provided with heating means distributed over and disposed a short distance above the floor of the chamber but in direct communication With the floor area therebeneath so as to distribute the air directly upwardly through the chamber and cooling device positioned on a side we. of the chamber within the drying with its cooling surface in direct contact with the air of the drying 4. A drying room, comprising a closed drying chamber, a seating. iihtl distributing device extending said chamber adjacent to th e certain thereof, consisting of a series "steam pipes arranged in gradually decreasing spaced relation from one side of the chamber, and a cooling device located on one upright side of the char-ah I 5. A drying room, comp'r'si closed drying chamber a lien "rig a d distributing device extending acre i-lainber a short distanceabovc the bot (of, said dc-- vice consisting of s'e'r or i seem pipes arranged in gradually decreasing iced if-ia tion from one side of the chamb ri and .1: cooling device located within ti nber a the side wall thereof iroin wli o of the heating pipes decreases! i 6. A drying room, compri'singa closed drying chamber having acooling dcvicelocated on one side thereof within the drying space of the chambers and a heating and distributing device extending across said chann her a short distance above the floerthcreof, said device being spaced from the Wall on which the cooling device is lo i d (igng l a series fpipes eatin longi- Manny of the chamber and arranged in gradually decreasing spaced relation from the cooling side of the chamber.

7. A drying room, comprising a closed drying rhaihber a cooling device located on appetite side walls thereof adjacent to the top of the room, a heating and distributing device spaced from the Walls on which the cooling device is located and extending across the chamh a short distance above the floor thereof, said device comprising a series of connect'cdsteam pipes extending longitudinally of the rooin and arranged in gradually decreasing spaced relation from the sides toward the center of the room.

8. A drying room comprising a drying chamber, and an air heatin g and distributing device comprising a series of pipes arranged in decreasing spaced relation transversely of the room beneath the material to be dried.

ELMER E. PERKINS.

Witnesses IRA J WILSON, A. G. LATIMER. 

